insideKENT Magazine Issue 69 - December 2017 | страница 176

CHARITY
A CHARITABLE
CENTREPOINT
Christmas must be an unbearable time for the
homeless, who no doubt feel more isolated
and lonely than ever over the festive period,
and Centrepoint’s ‘More Than’ campaign is
the ideal way to make a difference to the life
of a homeless youth on behalf of your friend
or family member. Just £10 can provide a hot
Christmas dinner for a homeless young person
to share with others in their hostel; £18 will
buy a Christmas jumper, which are far from
a novelty for the homeless and are essential
in providing warmth, comfort and protection
from harsh winter weather; and £50 will cover
the cost of a Christmas hamper containing
enough food to last a few weeks and a few
festive treats too.
www.centrepoint.org.uk
CHRISTIAN AID
‘Present Aid’ is Christian Aid’s online charity
gift shop, so when you purchase an ethical
gift from there, not only will you be helping
to fund the charity’s vital work to end poverty
all around the world, but you can do so
according to what and where matters most to
you. Whether you want to buy school bags,
books and biros for young kids in Bangladesh
(£9), donate a sheep to a woman in Ethiopia,
so she can earn enough money to start a
CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE cont.
savings group (£10), help stranded families to
cook, eat and find strength together by
installing a community kitchen in a refugee
camp (£40), or support a rural Columbian
family by providing time with a lawyer to help
prevent their land from being sold off to palm
oil companies (£52) – the options are endless
and each is as worthy as the next.
www.presentaid.org/christmas-gifts
THE NATIONAL TRUST
Founded in 1895 by three people who
thankfully understood the importance of our
nation’s heritage and open spaces and wanted
to preserve them, the National Trust is
completely independent of government
funding, so relies on membership fees,
donations and legacies for its continued
survival. £20 will help guard two feet of
coastline for an entire year and you can help
save the red squirrel from extinction for just
£10, both of which you’ll receive a
customisable gift certificate for. If you’d rather
give someone a tangible present, buy four jars
of National Trust honey and they can then
buy a 320g bag of wildflower seeds to enrich
pollinator habitat, or purchase three cosy
polka-dot throws and you’ll enable them to
build one metre of protective drystone wall.
GIVE YOUR TIME
If you’d rather not donate money and are
passionate about supporting causes more local
to you, don’t forget that your time is as valuable
as any financial offering. FareShare is the UK’s
largest charity fighting hunger and food waste
across the UK and they have a centre in
Ashford, Kent, that redistributes surplus food
to charities and community organisations
working with disadvantaged people across
the region. You can sign up to volunteer here:
http://fareshare.org.uk/apply-to-
volunteer-kent/.
At home, a reverse advent calendar is also a
great way to give at Christmas and makes for
a gentle introduction to children of the notion
that some people are less fortunate than others.
Every day from 1st December to 24th
December, put a non-perishable food product
(tins, gravy granules, grains, chocolate, noodles
etc.) into a box, then when you have all 24
products collected on Christmas Eve, donate
the parcel to your local food bank. Sadly, there
are lots of families that will benefit from your
thoughtfulness, but that will thankfully have
a better Christmas as a result.
https://shop.nationaltrust.org.uk
We love this…
CHARITABLE BOOKINGS SIGNATURE DISH RECIPE BOOK . The perfect gift for all foodies, this 754-page
hardback book includes 365 mouthwatering main course recipes from 365 of the UK's leading
chefs. Every book purchased includes a £5 donation to a charity of your choice.
£40, www.charitablebookings.org
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